What do I want to do next, they asked.....

Had lunch with two dear friends who I see far too little of, mainly when one of us has a professional excuse. Both were eager to ask me "What do you want to do next?" I didn't have an answer and that is becauuuuuse......I'm doing it. In other words I want to be doing what I'm currently doing which is whatever I want! 'nuff said, right?

So in answer to the question "what happens when you've sewn new covers for all of your porch pillows," I'll have to guess that there will be more classes to teach, more kids' field trips to chaparone, more yoga to practice (heyyyyyyy to Olga @ http://www.aligningwithgrace.com/ ), more books to be read, pictures to be painted, gardens to plant, roses to smell.....and I'm doing it as much as and as long as I can.

I am not declaring that I will never again be gainfully employed either full-time or part-time (why? 'cause my mama taught me to neva' say neva', LOL) but I received a clear message from YOUKNOWWHOTHEMANUPSTAIRS telling me that he wants me at home, doing what?, minding home and hearth. So I'm listening and following instructions.

:P to those of you who think I rebel against authority and despise instructions. Ha!

So I'm working on these gosh-darn cushion/pillow covers (Mr. Singer is rolling over in his grave I know it- for abusing his machines!), to make the front porch super pretty for Spring and Katherine's First Holy Communion and then I will focus on getting all of my hanging pots planted up with pink flowery stuff and then I'm going to have a Pink-Themed Girls' Night and serve those yummy pink grapefruit drinks we all liked on Pinterest, but before that I'm going to do some work out back on the patio and get the flower beds back there all planted up nicey for my BFF's maybe with some of those adorable solar powered light strings that hung up in the umbrella (thank you Fernando there will be no little garden lamps for you to chew!) I just had an idea - maybe the Pink Ladies' Night will be a mini fundraiser for the Georgetown Lombardi Cancer Center - and I will use Brian Orakpo's pink shoes to collect money in (this is another story that I will share but I have BO's practice cleats from last Oct (which is breast cancer awareness month hence he was wearing hot pink) that I bid on and won in a silent auction for the benefit of the Lombardi Center....

Sounds complicated doesn't it? I've been accused of living a life that is a reality show....if there's interesting stuff to do and juggle a million things at a time* and things to learn the hard way (and laugh about later) I am right there in the middle of it - this is true!


Back to the Porch and the Patio - getting that all prettied up for the tiny little reception I'm pondering to honor the occasion of Kate's First Holy Communion. Once that's done - excellent opportunity for a Pink Ladies' Night.....not to worry - the food will not be pink, just the ladies and the drinks!!

*btw, I have another post brewing about multi-tasking gone bad.....

So all that rambling and side-bar stuff being said, I'm doing what I want to do next - this is real stuff I'm doing while I appear to be staying at home doing nothing....that is - getting in touch with my inner domestic goddess; having spontaneous fun with my amazing children; getting my art on; connecting with people who I LOVE to be around (see above @Olga the yoga teacher!); and letting my ADD mind be quiet enough to hear what else God has to tell me. Have a terrific Spring Break if you're Spring Breakin'. Happy Easter if you're celebrating.

And please comment if you agree, disagree, aren't sure that I'm playing with a full deck or not, etc. THANK YOU!!!

Yin Yoga Anyone?

I just returned from a Yin Yoga session. What is Yin Yoga? Well to be honest, "Reading about yoga is like reading a menu when you are hungry: interesting, maybe even mouth watering, but until you actually partake of what you are seeing, your need will not be quenched." (quoted from YinYoga.com) But essentially we moved through a series of poses S-L-O-W-L-Y, holding each for up to five minutes.

One result, among others is the unbelievable quieting of the mind. I know for a fact this is the very first time I went through an entire class and did not speak at all! All of the poses were very familiar to me (although they're called different things in Yin) so it was not a problem to hold them for 5 minutes. What good is this uber quieting of the mind when there are always a million things to be done? The good is in the fact that it's the polar opposite of multi-tasking your brains out...or until your brain is fried to a crisp.

In the quiet mind state if we consciously push away distractions we put ourselves in a perfect place to just listen and observe and there is much to see and hear. Everything from discovering where you're holding stress inside with clenched muscles in the back and neck to calmly figuring out what your priorities should be for the day, or beyond.

With quiet minds we're receptive to what God is trying to tell us that he wants for us. It took being sick for a couple of months to slow me down to the point of figuring out that I should take a break from working and focus on home and hearth. That was a big message that it's easy enough to push out of your mind as impossible, impractical, you name it. But I prayed about it and I was convinced that He meant for me to do it so I took this leap of faith and here I am. What's really important to me though is the repeated practice of quieting my mind so that the messages don't get jumbled. Everyone has "off" days and this mind quieting is one way to get myself back on course.

One other cool aspect here is that this different yoga practice comes as a result of my teacher having a life changing moment and making decisions on how to proceed in a way that brings her peace and happiness. http://www.aligningwithgrace.com/ See how we're all connected? Her reaching a new level of joy in her teaching coincided with my need for more effective ways to quiet my mind and remain in the present. I love this....I envision it as that we have an intertwined purpose....and we are connected to many people in similar ways. It's a beautiful thing.

Peace!